Social, Cultural and Demographic Trends in the Philippines

The Cultural Landscape

The Philippines, situated just above the equator in insular
Southeast Asia, is an archipelago of 7,107 islands. However, not
all islands are populated. The biggest islands are Luzon located
in the north, and Mindanao located in the southern portion of
the archipelago. The group of islands found between Luzon and
Mindanao are generically known as the Visayas. The country is
one of the top regions in the world that are characterized by high
biodiversity. It is diverse in terms of ecosystems, genetic
resources, species of flora and fauna, and culture. Because
communities have been separated from one another by sea and
mountain, various ethnicities, languages, and dialects have
emerged in different parts of the country. There are more than 70
ethnic groups that are spread throughout the islands. However,
only eight of these groups make up more than 82 percent of the
population. Based on the2000 Census of Population and Housing,
the so-called ethnic majority is made up of the Tagalog (28.16
percent), Cebuano (23.12 percent), Ilocano (9.07 percent),
Hiligaynon (7.57percent), Bikol (6.01 percent), Waray (3.36
percent), Kapampangan (3.03 percent), andPangasinan (1.78
percent). All of these groups are indigenous to Luzon and the
Visayas. The remaining 18 percent of the population consist of the
so-called ethnic minorities who are mainly found in Mindanao and
in parts of Luzon and the Visayas. Since 1997, these ethnic
minorities have been legally referred to as indigenous peoples
by virtue of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). Adding to
the ethnic complexity is the presence of several migrant
populations, such as the Chinese, Indian, Spanish, American, and
recently, Korean communities. There are various cultural traits
that define ethnicity, such as geographical abode, religion, native
costumes, historical tradition, and other markers. In the
Philippines, however, linguistic difference is the primary criterion
for ethnic identity. Thus, the various ethnic groups are popularly
known as ethno-linguistic groups. According to the Summer
Institute of Linguistics, there are 172 languages that are used in
the Philippines. Three of these languages are foreign languages,

namely English, Castilian Spanish, and Minnan Chinese. The

remaining 169 languages are indigenous to the country. One of
these indigenous languages is a visual language, i.e. Filipino Sign
Language (FSL),while the rest are spoken languages. Of these
spoken languages, one is a Creole language known as
Chavacano while the rest are languages that belong to the
Western Malayo-Polynesian subfamily of languages.
There are several religious traditions as well in the country.
Majority of Filipinos(approximately 83 percent) consider
themselves as Roman Catholics while the rest areProtestants (9
percent), Muslims (5 percent), and others, including animists (3
percent).The dominance of Roman Catholicism is attributed to the
three centuries of Spanish colonialrule in the archipelago. Prior to
Spanish colonization in 1565, many communities fromCentral
Luzon all the way to Mindanao had Musim chiefs. In Mindanao, in
particular,three sultanates had been established, namely in Sulu,
Lanao, and Maguindanao. Atpresent, Muslim settlements are
generally found in southwestern Philippines in what is nowknown
as the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Product of History
The distinction between the ethnic majority and the
ethnic minority is a product of the Philippines colonial past.
Those groups that have been colonized by Spain and have been
converted into Roman Catholicism became what is now known as
the ethnic majority. On the other hand, those that have
continued the practices of their ancestors became labeled as
minorities and indigenous peoples. While it is true that they
indeed make up the majority of the population in terms of
number, the concept of being the majority is also a political
construct. These Christian(dominantly Catholic) groups have more
political power than others because they have embraced the laws
and the life-ways of the colonizers. Eventually, they inherited the
Philippine State and perpetuated the laws and practices of their
previous colonial masters (i.e.Spain and, eventually, the US). It is
not surprising then when one hears of criticisms from Visayas or
Mindanao against what they call as Manila imperialism.

Armed Conflict
Armed separatist movements are still found in Mindanao
although the strength of these groups has weakened in recent
years. Originally, the Moro National Liberation Front(MNLF) and
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) advocated for an
independent Bangsamoro Republik and pressed their political
agenda through armed means. Both groups now officially
announce that they are amenable to political and cultural
autonomy within the context of the Philippine State. However,
there are splinter groups of the MNLF and the MILF that still
engage in armed hostilities with the Philippine military.
To complicate matters is the persistence of an armed Maoist
guerilla movement, especially in remote rural areas. This
movement is led by the Communist Party of the Philippines and
its military arm the New Peoples Army (NPA). The CPP-NPA is
waging a protracted peoples war since 1969. It is perhaps the
only remaining Maoist armed group in the world, after the
collapse of the Sendero Luminoso in Peru and the shift to
parliamentary struggle of Maoists in Nepal. Both Muslim
separatism and the Maoist insurgency grew in strength during the
period of Marcos dictatorship. Poverty and human rights abuses
have contributed to the popularity of the revolutionary agenda.
Both groups eventually weakened with the peaceful overthrow of
President Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986 and the restoration
of democratic institutions thereafter. However, the transition to
democracy was marked by armed challenges as well coming from
disgruntled military men who waged several coup attempts
against the government of President Corazon Aquino. All of these
coup attempts have been quelled but this eventually led to a
strong political influence on the government by military generals.
Up to the present, the Philippine State remains as a weak state
that is constantly faced with political instability.
Overpopulation and Poverty

While the economies of neighboring countries in Southeast

Asia grew, such as those of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,
Vietnam, and to some extent, Indonesia, the Philippines continued
to experience economic difficulties. These economic problems
included the high incidence of poverty, the unequal distribution of
wealth, the diminishing buying power of the Philippine peso, high
cost of commodities, lack of basic services, and the presence of
slum communities in urban centers. Many of these problems
could be traced from the elite-dominated power structure of the
country compounded by the lack of economic planning and
political foresight.
Exacerbating these economic woes is the rapid population
growth of the country. The delivery of services, such as health and
education, could not catch up with the growth of the population.
One stumbling block comes from the ultra-conservative Roman
Catholic Church hierarchy in the Philippines that opposes the
governments population management measures. The Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) openly meddles
into the political affairs of the State by opposing family planning
programs, the teaching of sex education in schools, and the
distribution of contraceptives. The incumbent President Benigno
Aquino, Jr. has openly advocated for the passage of the
Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, which gives women the right to
choose whether they want to give birth or not. However, the
Catholic Church hierarchy threatened President Aquino of
excommunication from being a Catholic. It would be interesting to
monitor the course of events regarding the RH Bill to see if the
Church still gets its way as it has always done in the past since
the Spanish colonial period.
Filipino Diaspora
To escape the lack of economic opportunities in the country,
many Filipinos have gone abroad in search of greener pastures.
Many of them have moved to different parts of the world to work
as overseas contract workers. As of 2004, there are 3.6 million
Filipinos who are working abroad as contract workers. Most of
them are working as industrial and service workers in the Middle

East. The rest are working as domestic helpers in HongKong,

English teachers in the Spanish-speaking regions of the US,
nurses in Great Britain, NGO workers in Cambodia, entertainers in
Japan, and Catholic missionaries in Africa, among others. If one
were to add the number of Filipinos who have permanently
migrated to another country, such as in the United States, the
number of overseas Filipinos would reach eight million.
Unlike their Asian brothers, however, Filipinos do not
generally bring with them their culture to a foreign setting. They
do not establish Filipino towns similar to those of a Chinatown. On
the contrary, many of them adopt the culture of the host country.
Many of migrant parents discourage their children from speaking
their native tongue with the belief that they could not easily
adjust in their new setting if they continue to cling to Filipino
language and identity. Thus, the problem of culture loss is very
strong among Filipino migrant communities. Moreover, when
these overseas Filipinos go back to the Philippines, they carry with
them the culture that they have learned abroad. For example,
Filipinos who have worked in Italy would create Italian towns
(i.e. houses made of Italian architecture) in rural communities in
the Philippines. Because of domestic poverty and political
instability, many Filipinos become ashamed of being Filipinos and
tend to think that the culture of foreigners is more superior to
their own culture.
Future for the Philippines
What the future holds for the Philippines is still unknown as
there is still an ongoing tug-of-war between forces of the status
quo versus forces advocating for structural change. In the light of
the 150th birth anniversary on June 19, 2011 of Jose Rizal, the
Philippine national hero, it is important to look back at his
thoughts about the future of the Philippines. Rizal was always
optimistic that there will be a better tomorrow for the country. He
pinpointed the social ills that beset the Philippines during the late
19th century. Unfortunately, many of these ills are the same ones
that Filipinos face today. Despite those problems, Rizal believed
that they could be overcome. He believed that Filipinos are

brilliant enough to be able to change the lot that they are in. Of
course, one should not be just dreaming about a better future but
should actually wake up to work for that better future. This
remains the challenge for Filipinos today.
Demographic Trends
The Philippines ranks as the 9th most populous country in
Asia and the 14th in the world. While the country's population
growth rate has gone down from 3.3% to 2.4% over the past 30
years, this growth rate, if unabated, will cause the population to
double to 128 million by 2025. The population structure (where
40% are under 15 years of age) as of 1990, with its dependency
ratio of 75/100, is indicative of the strain on the limited resources
both at the household and at the national level. The last 25 years
have seen continued rural to urban migration, resulting in a major
shift in the balance between rural and urban populations, and
affecting the quality of life both in the cities and the rural
communities. Outward movement of Filipinos to other countries,
either through emigration or through overseas employment, has
caused significant pressures on the integrity of family and
community life. It is expected that rapid population growth and
imbalances in spatial distribution would continue if there is no
recognition of the relationships between population, resources,
environment, and development in policy decision-making at all
levels of governance, as well as the crucial role that the family
plays.
Demographic Dynamics in Tawitawis Marine Hotspots
The provincial average rate of population growth in Tawitawi
(5.5% per annum) conceals marked disparities among its various
municipalities and marine hotspot areas. For example, in the
municipality of Sitangkai, which border the Tumindao Reef
Complex, the local population is expanding by 7.9% with a
doubling time of only 9.1 years. Another demographic trend that
is contributing to the loss of marine biodiversity is the high rate of
population density in Tawitawi, which averages 296 people per
km2 but ranges as high as 526 in the municipality of Sapa-Sapa

and exceeds 1,160 in the Turtle Island Heritage Protected Area,

which is home to the world's largest population of nesting green
sea turtles.
The high rate of growth, density and momentum of
Tawitawis population has serious implications for the future of the
marine environment and the sustainability of coastal and aquatic
resources upon which the majority of the population depend for
food and livelihood. Other threats to the rich coastal resources of
Tawitawi is the almost total lack of management through law
enforcement, education and coastal resource management
programs to guide the fisheries in their manner of exploitation.
The entire area is notorious for rampant illegal fishing through
dynamite and other illegal use of nets and collection of mollusks,
crustaceans, stony corals, precious corals, sea fans, sea turtles
and other rare and often legally protected species. The nearshore
fringing reefs are heavily fished and are not considered in good
condition in terms of fish density. A survey of fish diversity and
abundance in Papahag island only observed 1738 individuals of
fish in 1250 square meter area with 58 species of reef fish (BFAR
20005). This is much lower than observed in the reefs in the
Central Visayas and thus indicates an overfished reef.
Nevertheless, the coral cover on the same reef is quite good with
an average 59 percent living coral cover.
Ong and others (2002) have classified the priorities for
marine biodiversity conservation in Tawitawi (see Table below).
Conservation efforts, however, need to take into consideration the
social and demographic factors that are driving over-extraction
and habitat degradation of which poverty and population density
pose, perhaps, the greatest challenge. Experience from other
coastal areas in Philippines suggests that integrated populationhealth-environment approaches are not only more efficient but
generate higher impact on both human and ecosystem health
outcomes compared to sectoral approaches6. As such, three is a
need to strengthen coordination and collaboration among
conservation, health and family planning organizations and
among public and private sector organizations operating in
Tawitawi to better address the inter-related population-health-

environment (PHE) dynamics at play in marine hotspot areas.

Towards this end, PATH Foundation Philippines Inc. and WWFPhilippines collaborated with UNFPA-Philippines on an integrated
PHE project in Tawitawi that strengthened the capacity of local
institutions to simultaneously implement community based family
planning and coastal resource management strategies on the
densely crowded island of Sitangkai. The projectsupported
community efforts to establish and manage a fish sanctuary in
the Tumindao Reef Complex and empowered women and youth in
the barangays with reproductive health information and services
and expanded access to modern methods of contraception. The
potential exists to replicate the same approach in other Tawitawi
hotspots but funding remains a problem as most donor
organizations still prefer to support sectoral programs.
The Current
Development

and

Emerging

Landscape

for

Sustainable

Demographic trends - The Philippines ranks as the 9th most

populous country in Asia and 1 4th in the world. The country's
population growth, if unabated, will double to 128 million by 2025.
Rapid population growth and imbalances in spatial distribution will
continue if policy decision-making at all levels of governance does
not recognize the relationships among population, resources,
environment and development. The crucial role of the Filipino
family in the dynamics of these relationships should also be
considered.
Cultural trends - The inherent strengths of the Filipino culture
(e.g. openness, freedom of expression, resilience, strong family
orientation ) continue to reinforce social cohesion within the
Philippine society. These values are also embodied in the growing
tradition of local activism. However, it has been observed that
some erosion of Filipino cultural values has taken place as
manifested by, among others, the commodification of indigenous
culture, sexual tourism, consumerism and increasing materialism.
Other Demographic Trends

The population density of the Philippines is high, but the

distribution of the population is uneven. Parts of Metro Manila
have a population density that is more than 100 times that of
some outlying areas such as the mountainous area of northern
Luzon. The countrys birth rate remains significantly higher than
the world average, as well as the average for the Southeast Asian
region. Efforts since the mid-20th century to slow the overall
growth rate have had limited success, in part because reductions
in the birth rate have been offset to some degree by reductions in
the death rate.
Especially since World War II, population has tended to move
from rural areas to towns and cities. At the beginning of the 20th
century more than four-fifths of the population was rural, but by
the early 21st century that proportion had dropped to roughly
two-fifths. There is a considerable amount of Filipino emigration,
particularly of manual labourers and professionals. Many
emigrants have gone to the United States, Okinawa, Guam, and
Canada; in addition, a large number of skilled and semiskilled
workers have taken temporary overseas assignments, mainly in
the Middle East and, increasingly, in East and Southeast Asia.
Other Cultural Trends
International surveys show that Filipinos rank first in
religiosity and spirituality. The values of Maka-Diyos and makakalikasan are closely woven together in the Filipino's concern for
the environment. In addition, the inherent strengths of the Filipino
culture continue to reinforce social cohesion within Philippine
society. These include: openness, freedom of expression, gender
sensitivity, facility at conflict resolution, resilience, flexibility,
highly personalized approach at relationships, strong family
orientation, bayanihan spirit, and passion for creative expression
(as in the arts). These values are also embodied in the growing
tradition of local activism as manifested in the presence of formal
NGO/PO networks throughout the Philippines (at least one formal
network in 70 out of 78 provinces). These positive Filipino traits
are being felt and recognized globally as demonstrated by the
active participation and/or leadership of civil society in complex

discussions at various international summits such as the Earth

Summit in Rio, Social Development Summit in Copenhagen,
Women's Summit in Beijing and the Habitat Summit in Istanbul,
among others.
The continuing demand for Filipinos abroad also reflects a
high international regard for the quality of work and creativity of
Filipinos. Unfortunately, these traits may be suppressed under
conditions of economic growth and international trade that can
lead to a cultural homogenization. There are already observations
that some erosion of Filipino cultural values has taken place in
recent years. This can be seen, among others, in the
commodification of indigenous culture, sexual tourism,
consumerism, and increasing materialism especially in the cities.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.academia.edu/1304707/The_SocioCultural_Situation_in_the_Philippines
http://www.psdn.org.ph/agenda21/unity.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/456399/Philippines/23
733/Demographic-trends
http://www.pfpi.org/pdf/Demographic%20trends%20in%20Phils
%20marine%20hotspots%20(Sulu%20Sulawesi).pdf
http://www.psdn.org.ph/agenda21/wherenow.htm